WhatA12-Year-OldUkulelePlayerTeachesUsAboutAuthenticityInOurWork

What vocational lessons could we possibly learn from the 12-year-old viral sensation who just won America’s Got Talent?

I don’t watch reality television contests, because as a rule, the best participants rarely participate and when they do, they almost never win. But quite randomly, a 12-year-old ukulele player named Grace VanderWaal, inspired me to break my own boycott.

On our way to another channel, my family stumbled on America’s Got Talent a few months ago just in time to see one of my favorite instruments—the ukulele—adorning the neck of a diminutive blond girl.